


Let Me Taste Your Blood

by Twisted_Magic



Series: Protect This Love [2]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Andy | Andromache of Scythia Regains Immortality, Angst, BAMF Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Blood and Gore, Bloodlust, Canon-Typical Violence, Feral Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Humor, Multi, Original Character Death(s), POV Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Post-Movie: The Old Guard (2020), Protective Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Swearing, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27118114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twisted_Magic/pseuds/Twisted_Magic
Summary: They have been held prisoner for a few hours now. Joe, his sweet Joe, is sitting across from Nicky, entertaining himself by composing a poem about all the ways to kill a man, alternating each line to be in a different language.~Nicky, Joe, Andy, and Nile are restrained in a cell together after a mission gone wrong. When a man comes in and starts beating up Joe, Nicky kills that man with his teeth.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Nile Freeman & Everyone
Series: Protect This Love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1979410
Comments: 14
Kudos: 272





	Let Me Taste Your Blood

**Author's Note:**

> I was so pleased and motivated by the positive reception my first Joe/Nicky fic got yesterday, and I'm still riding the high that is _The Old Guard_ (2020), so I wrote another Protective Nicky fic! This one is gorier and a bit darker than the last one, but I also somehow find it funny, so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Title from Vampire by People In Planes.

They have been held prisoner for a few hours now. 

Nicky’s wrists are aching and itching from the tight rope that binds them behind his back to a low metal rung on the wall. The cell is frankly primeval, but it manages to hold them nonetheless. Nile, on Nicky’s left, grunts and grumbles to herself as she continues her tireless efforts to wriggle her hands free. Andy is sitting quietly on the other side of Nile against the adjacent wall, staring straight ahead as she undoubtedly mentally retraces their passage through the underground compound and plans an escape route.

Joe, his sweet Joe, is sitting across from Nicky, entertaining himself by composing a poem about all the ways to kill a man, alternating each line to be in a different language. Nicky closes his eyes to listen to the quietly spoken words in bliss, letting the voice of his lover wash over him.

The peace and relative quiet don’t last.

Footsteps approach, and then the thick door is hauled open with a metallic moan and a scrape along the stone floor. Nicky’s eyes latch onto the man that enters and flicks them from the brass knuckles on his right hand to the gun in his waistband.

“So,” the man starts in a low voice. “The boss wants me to pick one of you to get punished first, for breaking into his place and messing with his business. Now, who’s it gonna be?” 

Andy begins to speak up, but Joe beats her to it.

“You’re not going to hurt any of us,” he states vehemently. Nicky briefly closes his eyes. Joe is sometimes too protective of his family for his own good. The man turns to Joe.

“Oh, so it’s gonna be you, is it?” 

The man doesn’t wait for an answer.

He slams his brass knuckles into Joe’s face with a crack. Joe cries out in startled pain, and his head jerks back to hit the wall behind him.

“ _Joe!_ ” Nicky shouts. He yanks forward in his restraints, but it’s to no avail; they’re too secure around his wrists, and he’s not strong enough to rip the rope from the rung on the wall. 

All Nicky can do is strain forward and yell as the man throws punch after punch into Joe’s body and bursts out a cruel laugh for each time Joe verbalizes his pain.

Nicky will not stand for it.

Nicky lets out a yell, and pulls as hard as he can. 

He succeeds in getting his hands free, scraping off most of the skin on them in the process. The man turns, and starts towards him with a shout. Nicky’s hands are burning with pain, and he has no weapon, so Nicky acts on pure instinct.

Nicky darts forward, sinks his teeth into the man’s throat, and _rips_. The man lets out a gargled choke. The taste in Nicky’s mouth is disgusting––he has only had the misfortune of tasting human flesh a few times in his many years––so he spits out the gory chunk from his mouth. The man falls to the ground clutching the front of his neck, blood spilling from between his fingers. Nicky thinks the man tries to say ‘fuck,’ but it’s far too garbled for him to properly tell.

Nick advances to the man’s place on the ground, and he grabs the front of his shirt, yanking him up to be inches from his face.

“Never, ever, touch my love again.” Blood spits out with each word, landing on the man’s face to join the stream of red sputtering from his mouth. His eyes are wide with terror. Mere moments later, they then droop shut and go still beneath his eyelids, along with the man they belong to.

Nicky drops the dead weight to the floor. He stands up and strides across the room to Joe. As he does so, he wipes some of the blood from his mouth, though he doubts it does much good considering his hands are still bloody themselves.

Joe is looking up at Nicky with wide eyes. His eyes, though, unlike the horrible man’s, are filled with awe.

“Sei tutto per me,” Joe gushes as Nicky works on untying the rope behind his back. _You are everything to me_. Nicky gives him a quick look with a smirk that he knows Joe will understand to mean ‘ditto.’

“You’re covered in blood, that’s what you are,” Andy pitches in from Nicky’s left. “Jesus fuck, I haven’t seen someone do that in a long time.” Nicky lets out a laugh.

“We Italians, we cannot help ourselves.” Andy and Joe share in his laughter.

The rope finally comes undone, and Joe swiftly uses his returned freedom of movement to pull Nicky into a tight hug. They keep it brief for the sake of staying on task, but it is by no means less communicative of their love for each other because of it.

Joe pats him on the arm before he gets up. He then heads over to Andy to start undoing her restraints. As Nicky himself gets up and walks over to Nile, he realizes he hasn’t heard her say anything since Nicky’s little blood fest.

Nicky crouches before Nile. He makes note of her eyes darting downwards to the floor and staying there. She is as still and silent as stone. While it’s true that she has seen a lot of bloodshed and intense fights over the past few months, Nicky still notices the occasional time that she can’t help but avert her eyes from a particularly brutal killing – or killer, in this case.

“May I?” Nicky asks, lifting his still bloody but now healed hands towards her. Nile takes a second before nodding her affirmation. Nicky is slow and gentle as he shifts to reach behind and begin undoing the rope. He normally never shies away from touch, but he is careful to avoid smearing the blood on his hands onto hers and making her come into contact with him.

Nicky remembers what it was like to be sickened by such things, back when he was a young man of God and full of bright eyed faith for the world.

“Thanks,” Nile mutters as soon as she can slip her hands free.

“You are welcome,” Nicky replies just as quietly, and stands to give her some space. He turns to see Andy glancing at Nile with nearly masked concern; Andy may be the most bloodthirsty of them all, but she’s still the mother of the group. Even as she sets about telling them her escape plan, she gives Nile’s shoulder a squeeze and gives her a small smile that they all recognize to be one of comfort; an expression that tells the recipient ‘you are a part of this family’ and makes that a good thing.

“Remember, Nile,” Andy stops to whisper to her. “We do anything for each other.” Nile finally smiles, and nods in understanding.

Joe steps over to Nicky and takes one of his hands in his. The smile on Joe’s face is radiant, and Nicky knows that no matter how much blood he gets on his hands, and on his face, Joe will always look at him like that and touch him as if red was only the colour of love.


End file.
